Hannibal felt



FELT.

WAGON BRAKE.

(No Model.)

Ptented June 5, 1888.

figg

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HNNIBAL FELT, or HAMILTON, OHIO, assrenon oF ONE-HALF To HENRY P.lDEUSOHER, OF SAME PLACE.'

WAGON-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No, 278,924, dated June 5,1853,

" Application tiled January '27, 1883. (No model.)

1b all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that l, HANNIBAL FELT, of Hamilton, Butler count-y, Ohio,have invented a new and useful Improvement in VagOIr Brakes, of whichtheiollowing is a specication. My invention relates to an improvedconstruction of those wagon-brakes which operate automatically to cheekthe vehicle on a descending grade, or whenever the team is sud- I Odenly halted. For this purpose I employ, preferably, a forked lever,which embraces and is pivoted to the wagon-tongue near its front end,and whose upper portion occupies a staple on the neck-yoke. The forkedextremities of this I5 lever are connected by rod with a crank at the.mid-length of a cross-shaft that is j Ournaled a little in front of andabove the rear axle. Cranks on the ends of this shaft engage in slots inthe rear extremity of a swinging frame 2o which is suspended from atransom upon the hounds or reaches within the circuit ofthe wheel-tire.The front portion of this frame constitutes the brake-bar which carriesthe shoes or rubbers.

The construction of the device such as to be effective in suddenstopping of the team and in going downhill, and to be inert or brakefreeboth in forward travel and in the act of backing.

In the accompanying drawings, Figures l. and 2 are side elevations of awagon (which may be of any customary or suitable construction) providedwith my improved brake device, Fig. 1 representing the vehicle in itsnormal condition, and Fig. with the brake in contact with the wheels.Figs. 3 and 4 rep` resent, respectively, the brake mechanism proper, andthe forked lever and neck-yoke as they appear when the brake is inaction.

O 4 front wheels, of any wagon.

C Inay represent customary reaches or hounds, whereby the rear axle, D,is coupled to the bolster E upon the frontaxle, F, to which thewagon-tongue G is secured in the repre sented or any customary manner.

H may represent the usual jointed and-adjustable brake-rod.

v I is atransoin, which is fastened athwartthe 5o reaches about half theradius of the wheel in front of the rear anle.

A may represent the rear wheels, and Bthe Flexibly attached to the endsof transom l, and depending therefrom, are links J, whose lower ends arepivoted to a swinging frame, K, the front. port-ion of whichconstit-utes the brakebar L, which bears at its extremities the shoes orrubbers M. t

The arrangement of the parts is such thatthe instant it is left atliberty the brake nieehanism, by virtue of its simple gravity, recovers6o the normal position shown in Fig. l, in which the suspending links Jhang perpendicular, and the brake-bar end of the frame K droops forwardwith its rubbers M out of contact with the wheels The rear ends ofthetwo sides of the suspended frame K have curved slots k, which areOccupied by cranks a at the extremities of a shaft, N, which isjournaled at-hwart the reaches a little in front of and above the rearaile, and which has at mid 7o length a crank, a', that points in theopposite direction tothe cranks a, and thatconnects by customarybrake-rod, H, with the forked lower eXt-remitiesof a lever, l?, which ispivoted to the tongue, near the front end thereof, 7 5 and whose upperportion engages in a staple,

Q, on the rear edge of the neck-yoke R, from whose lower side depends aring or loop, S, which slides freely along the tongue. rEhe staple Q ismade wide in the longitudinal di- So reetion of theneck-yoke to permitof the play incident to turning to the right or left withoutinterruption of t-he. lever action upon the brake.

The operation ot' thedeviee is as follows: S5 Y Wvhen the tea-m isdragging the wagon after it,

as occurs on all level or ascending roads and on slight declivities, theforward draft of the neck-yoke moves the lever into the position shownin Fig. 1, so as to slacken the brake-rod 9o H, and topermit the partsto sink to and to retain their normal p osition," with the susp enders Jhanging perpendicularly and the rub bers out of contact with the wheels,as shown in` Fig. l. If, now, the wagon crowd upon 9 5 the team, eitherby the sudden halting of the latter or by reason of the vehicledescending a steep declivity, the neck-yoke instantly shifts the lever Pto the position shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and, drawing forward the rod H,causes Ioo the cranks n to traverse the slot k, and finally to bring allthe parts to the positions shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 1, iii which thevery effort of the rear wheels to rotate operates to increase thebrake-pressure, because it tends to shorten the distance between thewheel center and the point of impact ofthe rubber. In the operationofbaeking, on the contra-ry, although the parts are brought to thepositions shown in -Figs. 2, 3, and 4, the wheels rotation is notopposed, because it is in the direction (see dotted arrow in Fig. 2)that operates to lift, rather than to depress the rubbers, and thus byincreas-A ing their distance from the wheel-eenters to relieve theirpressure. The brakestress, being thrown upon points ot' support atportions of the hounds or` reaches in olose proximity to the rear axle,is firmly sustained.

I claim as new and of my invention- The combination, with the means,substantially as set forth, for transmitting motion from lthe neck-yoke,of the swinging frame K, flexi- HANNIBAL FELT.

Attest:

E. J. HARDEN, W. L. GILBERT.

